i’ve seen a lot of different rail profiles on retro fishes. i just saw something new to me on a Kane Garden quad fin. pretty much the entire board had really knifed rails. most fishes i’ve seen have pretty soft full rails in the middle. but this one was super turned-down and thinned out. i guess it would keep the weight down while preserving thickness, but what does it do for control?
Ain’t just one way to skin a cat!
Any rail works, from all down hard to 50/50 S deck to full on boogie board bevels.
Shape whatever you feel like shaping, there’s no hard and fast rules.
I used to make kneeboards with those “Bunker Rails” around 1970. Plane quick but seemed sticky and tracky on the boards I made. I’ve seen Rich Pavel put them on his bonzer interpretations and he said that you have to have the right rail rocker to keep them free (no flat spots). Everything old is new again…
that actually makes a lot of sense, what you said about them being sticky and tracky. you’re basically putting a typical tail rail profile throughout the entire board, when you really only want the tail to be tracky. maybe this works better for fishes in the low 5 ft range. i’m a bigger guy, going for more like a 6’6". i’ll take your advice and soften the rails in the middle to free it up. this begs a fundamental question: do retro fishes work like they’re supposed to (little skateboards) for bigger guys since we need bigger boards? maybe i’ll just need bigger waves. i guess i’ll find out! thanks
Anytime you shape a surfboard with all down rails, you have to compensate with curvier template and/or increased rocker. Either works. Another thing you can do to make it work is stand back farther, apply more wave!
I’ve shaped over 50 boards with hard nose rails, hard mid, and tail, and none of them caught rails, tripped, or stuck when surfed hard off the back foot.
Trim and run front footers don’t like hard nose rails.
hi Loren !
Mark Richards comment on his twin fins’ rails in 1978 was “I like them razor sharp”
My 5’11 prawn fish has the same [not saying I surf like M.R. , though] . I really like it . So far [three years] it has flowed through turns for me .
As LeeDD said , being the ol’ back foot surfer helps ! [or at least , in my case , standing near the tail of the board with both feet close together] . Check out Derek Hynd in the dvd / vid “Litmus” , if you get a chance . That’s the style I mean .
hope this helps .
ben
Beveled rails in front third,knife sharp in last 16 ", slight single concave throughout…like a fast, loose, catamaran.Not retro though …sorry about that
I don’t know. But, his use of the term “retro fish” grates on my nerves. It’s either a fish, or it ain’t. Plain and simple.
I’ve always wondered – who was LeeDD anyway?
Hynson’s twinzers have very thin knifey rails, especially in the tail.
Hey Sammy what about those fish boards with the square or round tails? I see people posting them here all the time… my round tail fish, or my square tail fish. I get a kick out of that.
Yup. Just like the ones who compare “epoxy vs fiberglass”.